New Year Listings
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages in the New Year of 2023?
Not many shows carry on past the New Year but there are a trio of notable exceptions as well as a final last gasp hit of amateur pantomime. Oh yes there is!
The big news for panto fans is that despite an earlier fear that Sauchtonhall might not be staging one this year, the amateur company is back with a short alternative show, The Fed Up Christmas Fairy (Wed 4 – Sat 7) which could be just the blast needed to blow away the Daft Days cobwebs.
Charlotte Kennedy as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady which finishes its run this week at the Playhouse. Pic: Marc Brenner
The three returning shows come with a sparkling 14 stars between them, so all are heartily recommended by our critics.
The shortest remaining run is at the Studio Theatre where The Gift, aimed at children aged 18 months to 5 years and their families, has two, two-show days (Tue 3/Wed 4) remaining. It is just about perfectly pitched for its target audience.
At the Playhouse, the all-singing, all-dancing, all-round brilliant production of My Fair Lady finishes on Saturday 7. Our reviewer said: “There’s no reinventing the wheel in this revival, it’s more a case of perfecting it. Every casting decision, every piece of staging serves the story and the songs.”
Finally, the pantomime of the year, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, enters its third week of a five week run at the Festival Theatre. While there were only single seats available before New Year, there is great availability now and the expectation is that as the show beds in, its jokes and routines will blossom.
Listings
Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Sat 17 Dec 2022 – Sun 22 Jan 2023
This week: Tue – Sat: 2pm (not Wed) & 7pm; Sun: 1pm & 5pm.
Æ Review: ★★★★☆ Reassuringly funny
Mirror, Mirror on the wall – our Panto is the most magical of them all! With the King’s closed for a major redevelopment, the King’s Panto is relocating to the Festival Theatre with Allan Stewart as Nurse May, Grant Staff as Henchman, Jordan Young as Muddles, Liz Ewing as Queen Malevolista and Clare Gray as Lavinia, daughter of Lord Lucifer. Book here.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
My Fair Lady
Wed 14 Dec 2022 – Sat 7 Jan 2023.
This week: Mon, Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Mon/Tue, Sat: 2.30pm.
Æ review: ★★★★★ Simply Luverly.
The Lincoln Center Theater’s critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning and sumptuous production – featuring over 30 members of cast on stage and a full orchestra – is a truly loverly way to celebrate Christmas theatre back in bloom! Book here.
Sauchtonhall United Reform Church
85-87 Saughtonhall Drive, EH12 5TR.
The Fed Up Christmas Fairy
Wed 4 – Sat 7 January 2023.
Evenings: Weds/Thurs, Sat, Mats: Weds, Fri/Sat: 2.30pm.
Did you ever wonder how the Christmas fairy feels after Christmas? Amanda Baker’s new “pantomime, holiday show with nativity sparkle” takes you into the fairy’s world and introduces you to her friends. Book here.
Studio Theatre
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000
The Gift
Sat 17 Dec 2022 – Wed 4 Jan 2023
This week: Tue/Wed: 10.45am & 2pm.
Æ review: ★★★★★ Magical.
A mountain of discarded wrapping. A lonely child with an active imagination. It’s often the cardboard boxes, not the gifts inside that are the most fun. Is the true gift the joy that can come from the imagination? Book here.
ENDS
